Programming Blog

If you’ve read part one, you understand the intersection of your passion, skill set and subject matter expertise with competitive opportunities. In part two, we’ll help you explore some other success factors to find your sweet spot.

What does your portfolio scream about you?

You can spend a full hour pitching 50 clients. A week after the pitch, they’ll only remember precious few things about you. Chances are, your portfolio will stick out the most.

If you were to spend five minutes highlighting your portfolio to 50 prospects, what would they take away from it? The answer isn’t in the subtle nuances. It’s not in your careful use of metallic, or how difficult it was for you to find the perfect image for a homepage.

The answer is in more than what your portfolio says about you. It’s in what it screams about you.

By this I don’t necessarily mean your most innovative outside-the-box campaigns. Sure, they matter. And for some prospects they may be one of the most important buying considerations.

But even more important to most decision makers are two types of companies in your portfolio:
1. Big brands.
2. Companies like them—or that they’d like to grow up to be like.

Your portfolio is very much the illustration of your sweet spot. It’s what you do well and who you’re best at doing it for. It’s living, breathing proof that you can deliver something similar for the buyer who sees it. (Assuming, of course, that that buyer is similar.)

Moving up the food chain?

“But”, you say, “my portfolio is a great representation of my work, but I need to sell into bigger organizations.”

Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes designers (and the rest of us) get restless supporting small- and mid-size businesses. We’re sure the real money is with the big organizations.

Something about greener pastures elsewhere.

Do you want to move up the food chain because your opportunities with smaller organizations have diminished? Or because you’ve calculated and based on your expertise, your rate has increased outside of their means?

These are good reasons. But before moving up to larger organizations and defining your sweet spot by them, be ready for the challenge.

I worked with a design firm owner who wanted to sell into Fortune 500s. Her rationale was that she wouldn’t have to work so hard to keep the pipeline full with smaller projects. But here’s the reality: she didn’t have the track record, process or team she’d need to be successful with that caliber of organization. And she didn’t know how to sell or deliver to them.

She never achieved her goal and her small firm is in the same position now it was nearly a decade ago.

Yes, the big organizations are generally more profitable—if there is a real market need and you can support and sell into them. But if you’re not sure what you’re getting into, the learning curve may really hurt your business.

Defining your target company size is a major consideration. If you’ve never worked with the big boys, consider it carefully and proceed with caution. Be sure to maintain a flow of smaller projects while you’re chasing the ones at the top of the food chain.

Understand market opportunity

All of the above is moot if there’s no real business opportunity. I know a brilliant product packaging expert whose done work with some well-known national brands. But when she moved to a region without any manufacturing, she realized she wasn’t going to build a business as a product packaging designer.

But she could apply her skill set to the reality of her new region. She leveraged those known brands and highlighted the dimensional aspect of her work into opportunities with direct mail. She also messaged her high-pressure background in project management and product marketing.

You may have to adapt your expertise to real market opportunities. That’s all part of defining your sweet spot.

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About the Author
Becky Sheetz-Runkle is a marketing strategist and copywriter, and an advocate for measurable marketing. She’s based in the Washington, D.C. metro area and can be reached at bsheetz@q2marketing.com.